How Weave is organized
The graph is the source of truth
Section titled “The graph is the source of truth”A Weave project is a graph:
- Nodes are things in the world: characters, places, factions, items, ideas.
- Edges are directed relationships between two nodes.
- Types describe what kind of node or edge something is.
- Properties add structured values such as a title, population, allegiance, or date.
Entities, Query, Timeline, detail pages, Scopes, and layouts all read from this same graph. Editing a property in a detail page changes the value everywhere it is shown.
Scopes filter the graph
Section titled “Scopes filter the graph”Every project has one Global Scope that includes the entire graph and cannot be renamed or deleted. Additional Scopes are named node filters. They do not impose a folder tree or change the graph, and a node can belong to any number of them.
Representations show the data
Section titled “Representations show the data”- A Canvas arranges one Scope’s nodes and connectors freely. Several Canvases can represent the same Scope.
- A spatial layout belongs to an owner node and adds map-like geometry, images, styling, layers, and links.
Removing a node placement from a Canvas does not remove it from the Scope or delete it from the graph. Deleting a selected relationship from a Canvas does delete the graph edge. See Relational Canvases before using the Delete key.
Types make structure reusable
Section titled “Types make structure reusable”Node and edge types can share reusable property definitions. A Character type,
for example, might attach the same Occupation and Born properties to every
character. Custom data types can describe structured or enumerated values.
Structure is optional at first. You can create a type by name while creating a node or relationship, then add properties later in Types.
Time changes the visible world
Section titled “Time changes the visible world”Project time is either All time or a particular tick formatted through a calendar. Time-aware nodes and relationships have validity intervals. Changing the viewed time can affect Entities, queries, timelines, layout availability, mentions, and what is shown on a canvas.
A layout also has a temporal mode:
- All time ignores the project’s viewed moment.
- Follow project projects the layout at the current viewed time.
Read Project time before adding lifecycle dates.